Population structure, age and growth of Sardine, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) in the Black Sea

Abstract

Population structure, age and growth of sardine from the Eastern Black sea coasts of Turkey were examined. A total of 684 Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) were sampled between September 2009 and April 2010 from commercial purse-seine fleet operating along coasts of Rize. Total lengths of sardine were ranged between 11.0-17.9 cm and the weights ranged from 10.20-53.64 g regardless the sex. the sex ratio (male/female) was found to be 1.14 in favor of males. in ageing, 3 classes (1-3 years) were determined from 86 sardine otoliths. Growth performance of sardine in the Black sea was lower than the other seas.